Four weeks into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has failed to achieve the sweeping conquest Putin—and much of the world—had expected. The Russian invaders have encountered un-forecasted resistance in all major cities, their supply lines have been hobbled by constant attacks, and the Ukrainian military has displayed a surprising, deadly mobility. All these factors can be attributed in part to the work of the all-volunteer Territorial Defense Forces, which formed in the wake of Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea and has ramped up dramatically in the past two months. To better understand these volunteers and the role they have played in the present conflict, I spent two weeks photographing units in and around Kyiv. I met fighters as old as sixty-eight and as young as eighteen; I saw a few sixteen-year-olds turned away. Many volunteers were veterans; others had no military experience. They included flight attendants, actors, native Russians, and newlywed couples. What they had in common was a fierce love of their country. Their role is a combination of civil engineering and paramilitary preparedness: they build the fortifications on the same streets they patrol, and which, in all likelihood, they will soon defend by force.
 Four weeks into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has failed to achieve the sweeping conquest Putin—and much of the world—had expected. The Russian invaders have encountered un-forecasted resistance in all major cities, their supply lines have been hobbled by constant attacks, and the Ukrainian military has displayed a surprising, deadly mobility. All these factors can be attributed in part to the work of the all-volunteer Territorial Defense Forces, which formed in the wake of Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea and has ramped up dramatically in the past two months. To better understand these volunteers and the role they have played in the present conflict, I spent two weeks photographing units in and around Kyiv. I met fighters as old as sixty-eight and as young as eighteen; I saw a few sixteen-year-olds turned away. Many volunteers were veterans; others had no military experience. They included flight attendants, actors, native Russians, and newlywed couples. What they had in common was a fierce love of their country. Their role is a combination of civil engineering and paramilitary preparedness: they build the fortifications on the same streets they patrol, and which, in all likelihood, they will soon defend by force. Tucker Carlson, unsurprisingly, found the whole thing charming. Time to take your poolside look up a few notches. I look like my father, move like my father, talk like my father. When I was a child and we went places together, we were a full-size and miniature version of the same windup toy, our strides clipped and jolting, brows clenched in concentration, pale legs eerily glowing in the brilliant Miami sunlight. I am unmistakably my father's daughter, but we're estranged from each other. The last time I saw him, more than a decade ago at my grandfather's funeral, he gave me a kiss. I don't expect he'll kiss me again. The style is as timeless—and timely—as ever. Skip your therapist appointment. Therabody's massage gun deals have you covered. Two brothers, fertility specialists and barbiturate addicts, were found dead in a filthy Park Avenue apartment. Every theory about how they got there is a scandal. |
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